Overview
- Astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie landed at the Dongfeng site in Inner Mongolia at 4:40 p.m. Beijing time after 204 days in orbit.
- CMSA said tiny cracks in a Shenzhou-20 return-capsule window were most likely caused by orbital debris, rendering the spacecraft unsafe for crewed reentry.
- The trio returned in the docked Shenzhou-21 capsule that brought their replacements this month, while the damaged Shenzhou-20 remains in orbit to support experiments.
- With Shenzhou-21 used as the ride home, the current Tiangong crew has no immediate emergency return craft as CMSA prepares a Shenzhou-22 launch at an appropriate time.
- State media noted new milestones for the mission, including a record in-orbit stay for a Chinese crew and Commander Chen Dong surpassing 400 cumulative days in space and completing six spacewalks.